


Your Better Life (Chrobin Week Day 07)

by LORBEERPRINZ



Series: Chrobin Week 2016 [6]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Chrobin Week, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-05
Packaged: 2018-08-29 06:55:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8479534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LORBEERPRINZ/pseuds/LORBEERPRINZ
Summary: The existence of multiple versions of himself and his comrades was nothing new for Chrom, travelling around alternate timeslines and dimensions was nothing new to him, but he had thought after the fall of Grima, this had come to an end. He had never expected a relaxing afternoon with his children outside in the fields would include the visit of a strange, yet strangely familiar person. (Chrobin Week Day 7: In a Better Life)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Curiously enough, this was actually the first fic I wrote for Chrobin Week. For some reason, I immediately had something in mind for this day which I really wanted to bring to life quickly and quite honestly, it's still one of my favourites of the things I created for that week. I can't even really explain why that is, I just... kinda like it.

Spring’s warm kiss felt so good on his face.  
Even though Frederick and the division of royal guards continuously complained that this kind of small secret outings were a nightmare for them to organize and overlook, Chrom made a point of having them from time to time. He didn’t want his children to grow up as sheltered and ignorant to the world as he had, and if he stayed too long in the castle himself, he felt like the walls would collapse around and trap him.  
The long times of travelling as the leader of an army had made him appreciate the outside world even more than he would have ever imagined as a child.

 

The air smelled of blooming flowers, and it was the most soothing smell in the world.  
Weren’t these the flowers Robin liked so much that she had a fragrance made of them that she wore sometimes? Chrom was sure he knew it.  
Laughter of children around. Luckily, there was no need to worry about them; the guards made their best effort of being invisible now, but they were there when needed. All these men and women were hand-picked by Frederick, only they could be entrusted with the royal family of Ylisse.

 

Even though peace had been restored to the world, such relaxing times of doing nothing were rare for an Exalt.

 

The rich, open fields enfolded their beauty before Chrom’s eyes and the longer he looked along the horizon, the more he thought he had been in this place before, some time ago. Once again, Frederick had chosen the destination, but somehow… Wasn’t this…?

 

 

“…Chrom…?”

 

The Exalt stiffed for a moment, he hadn’t expected anyone to be here. He hadn’t seen anyone here before.  
And for some reason, the voice behind him sounded familiar, and at the same time it did not.

 

When he turned around, a young man faced him, almost as tall as himself, with white hair and gentle eyes. His dark, hooded robes seemed way too warm for a weather like this and everything about him – the decorations, the heavy pants and boots, the long sleeves – were things Chrom had seen a thousand times before. These embroidered purple eyes had looked at him so often.  
But the face he saw was one he had not seen before, or at least in the way it presented itself before him. Chrom had the feeling that with a little younger features, this man could be a comrade of his. More than that,even.

 

The two of them stared at each other wordlessly, until Chrom heard his guards slowly moving in from the back. He raised a hand, signalizing for them there was no need to worry. The feeling he had from this person was more than just familiar, and he just knew there was no danger coming from him.  
Finally, the white-haired spoke.

 

“I almost didn’t realize it’s you in these unsuspecting robes. They’re not even blue… did something happen to you…?”

 

Chrom’s head began to race, searching for a memory of meeting this person, since he spoke so familiarly to him, but there was nothing to be found. Only this feeling of familiarity he has had from the beginning on, nothing concrete.  
He swallowed. How was he supposed to answer?  
“Well… if I go out in my normal clothes, there’d be too much attention…”

 

Awkward silence fell between the two of them again, Chrom reaching for the back of his head in attempt to squeeze something out of it. He really wanted to know more about this person before him, and why he appeared so familiar to him. Should he just start asking why he was wearing the same clothes as is dear wife had for so long…?  
He saw the man’s eyes wander along his figure towards his outfit underneath the dark cloth, which was revealed a little now.

 

“That crest… I see, so now you’re…”  
Surprise turned into a warm smile.

 

Before Chrom could answer anything to that, he felt something bumping into him from behind. Small hands wrapped themselves around both of his legs, warm breath on his back through the cloth.

 

“Father!”

 

He turned around to find both Lucina and Morgan clinging to him, they seemed to have gotten bored of playing catch with each other. From the other side, he could hear the mysterious man slightly chuckling happily.  
The little Prince and Princess of Ylisse looked up to their father and he couldn’t help but pat both of them on their heads. Those bright smiles were what he had been fighting for all this long and painful time. They were worth all the sacrifices made.

 

 “Father, who is that?”

 

Lucina slipped around her father’s legs and faced the white-haired man. Morgan, meanwhile, seemed to be a little afraid of that person and his dark robes, continuing to cling to Chrom’s long coat, but not without some curiosity.  
Looking at his son and then at the man again, it seemed to Chrom like the two faces shared some kind of similarities.

 

Keeping his bright smile, the dark-robed one kneeled before Lucina, one hand behind his back and the other taking the little girl’s hand, placing a short kiss on it. Again, the guards were on the move, but Chrom commanded them to stay back as discreetly as he could.

 

“Good day, Lady Lucina, I hope you are well. My name is Robin.”

 

Chrom froze. He began to have an idea of what was going on, why he felt he had met this person before, and why that guy acted like they actually had. After all, if there was one thing he had learned from the wars he had fought, it was that nothing was really impossible. As long as there were endless other dimensions, every one of them had endless other lives.  
Lucina was too young to realize this, so she exclaimed what came to her mind first.

 

“But that’s Mama’s name!”  
“Mama name”, her little brother parroted.

 

Robin was just as frozen as Chrom for a moment, then he burst out in a heartfelt laugh as he got up again to face the Exalt. It seemed he understood too, but that was of no surprise to Chrom. He was a great Tactician, after all.  
Chrom picked up Morgan, whose young head was visibly trying to make sense of what was going on right now, but failing. Again he looked at his son’s face and then at Robin, and now the similarities made sense. Even though he had yet to discover a world where the people he knew were so different that they had the opposite gender, the two of them had to share the same blood, somehow. Of course Morgan would look like a little, blue-haired version of this Robin before him in such a case.

 

Slowly, Robin calmed down again from his laughter, just as Chrom was about to join in, thrilled by his realization of what was going on. Lucina looked back and forth between the two men, pouting as she had been left out.  
“Faaaather…”  
The Exalt let Morgan down again next to his sister and asked of them to go and play for a little more, he would explain everything to them later. He had doubts they would already understand it, but he was exited to talk about this to his other Lucina and Morgan, and the other Robin, of course.

 

After the children had set off to play, accompanied by a guard, Chrom thought it would make things easier if he asked right away.  
“So… why did you leave your world and came here?”

 

Robin hesitated for a moment, then sighed without ever losing his satisfied smile.  
“To see something… and now that I have found what I had been looking for, I will take my leave again. This is all I ever wanted, thanks for showing me, Chrom.”  
And indeed Robin turned and was about to go, wherever he could be going from here.  
But this was not enough of an explanation for Chrom at all.

 

“Wait a second, don’t go! What’s going on, what did you want to see? Come on, explain.”  
Robin stopped, but did not turn.  
“Please”, Chrom tried again, “I really want to know. Why are you here?”

 

More silence passed between them, as did the wind that blew loose grass and petals through Chrom’s view. One pink petal rested on Robin’s hair as the wind calmed down again, and for some reason it didn’t look as pink to Chrom as the rest. It seemed to become a little darker after touching Robin. Or maybe it was just an illusion, not all flowers and petals had the exact same color as the other, after all.  
Finally, Robin’s shoulders moved with another sigh, but he still did not face Chrom again. He spoke, just barely audible over the rustling grass.

 

“I wanted to see you once more. I wanted to know there’s a place where you and Lucina are happy, where you all are safe. This is the last thing I have energy left for after freeing myself from Grima. The world I know is no more, you lost, Lucina lost, nobody remained. Your blood is on my hands. I just wanted to see you smile again.”

 

Chrom was dumbfounded. A world in which even Lucina had lost, where everything had been devoured by the Fell Dragon, was such a gruesome thought he could hardly imagine it. Yet somehow this Robin had been strong enough to regain consciousness once more and claim his own body back to come here. He had always known Robin was strong, but this was more than he had ever imagined, and he was amazed at this willpower and courage.  
“If your world is gone”, he started and held out a hand trying to reach for Robin’s back, “then stay here with us. We won the battle, there’s nothing to fear. You’ll have a peaceful life.”

 

Finally Robin faced Chrom again, still wearing a smile, but it seemed a lot sadder than before. The petal in his hair began to whither.  
“You’re naïve as always… I gained my independence from Grima at the cost of most of my life. I’ll die very soon…”

 

Chrom reached out again, for Robin’s hand. He couldn’t let this happen, there was no way Robin had painfully escaped from Grima and made his way into a better world just to die here, now. When he touched Robin, the dark aura he had thought he’d seen before became fully visible, flickering around the white-haired man’s figure while his whole being seemed to begin fading away.  
Chrom had to be damn fast in convincing him to stay here.  
“I’m sure there’s a way to help you!”

 

Robin shook his head and took a step away from Chrom. Were there tears in his eyes? Or was it Chrom’s own vision that was clouded by them?  
“It’s fine. I can rest now, and I will never catch a cold again.”  
He forced himself into a brighter smile again, and now the tears were fully visible, as they ran down the young man’s cheeks.  
“Thank you for everything, Chrom. Take care.”

 

 

Then he was gone.

 

 

Chrom stared at the spot where Robin had been just a moment ago. It all felt so unreal, he had troubles determining whether this had seriously happened or if he had maybe daydreamed.  
No, it had been reality, the smile, the tears, the warmth, it had all been real.  Once again Robin had disappeared before his very eyes and he had been unable to do anything about this.  
He suddenly realized that this place was the one where it had all started some years ago, and he remained at it for some more time, silently hoping that somehow, this Robin would appear here again and start a new cycle. He wanted to take him home as he had taken the Robin of his world home.  
When nothing of this sort seemed to happen, he called for Lucina and Morgan and left.

 

Back in the palace, Chrom couldn’t help but tell his wife what he had also made his last words before leaving the grasslands.

 

“Thank you for everything.”


End file.
